Reducible cardboard containers



March 2, 1967 s. FELDMAN REDUCIBLE CARDBOARD CONTAINERS 2 Sheets-Sheet l Filed March 25, 1965 l i l 1 l I 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 2l, 1967 s. l.. FELDMAN REDUCIBLE CARDBOARD CONTAINERS Filed March 25, 1965 .L .-W||\ |1I M Ik" a IMM f7 6 2 a f/ Q m/w United States Patent Oce 3,31%,220 Patented Mar'. 21, 1967 Y 3,310,220 REDUCIBLE CARBIBOARD CONTAINERS Seymour L. Feldman, 143@ Ilimpton Ave., Bronx, N.Y. 10452 Filed Mar. 25, 1965, Ser. No. 442,602 3 Claims. (Ci. 229-35) The present invention relates to reducible containers and, more particularly, to cardboard containers, such as boxes and cartons, that are reducible in size, as part of their contents are removed, but retain their general shape and configuration in their reduced size.

The present invention is directed `to the provision of reducible containers useful for a wide variety of products, including, particularly, but not limited to, foods and the like. Containers that are reducible in size as their contents are partially removed have a number of important advantages. One advantage is that of space saving; the size of the container being reduced in size to conform to the reduction of its contents. This is of particular advantage in connection with large cardboard containers often referred to as economy size in connection with which substantial storage space savings may be effected, to the benefit of the consumer. It is of especial advantage in connection with containers of frozen foods that are kept in freezers and freezing compartments of refrigerators, wherein storage space is .at a premium.

Another advantage of the reducible containers to which the presen-t invention relates is that the consumer may be able to tell, at a glance, the amount of the contents remaining for use in the container and is not likely to be caught short of that product.

While conventional cardboard containers may be reduced in size, such reduction can only be effected by a crushing operation that results in a reclosure that is broken, frayed, ragged and uneven, and generally imperfect for the purpose of providing proper protection for the remaining contents in the container. It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide reducible containers, both boxes and cartons, of the' character described, having built-in means for reclosing the same after a portion of its contents are removed, to form a substitute closure that is substantially equal in character, by way of form, neatness of appearance and effectiveness, to the original closure of the container.

It is also an object of the present invention to provide reducible containers, of the character described, which may be manipulated by the user with a maximum of ease and facility for reducing its size and for forming and closing the substitute closure therefor.

It is another object of the present invention to provide reducible boxes and cartons, of the character described, which may be produced at little, if any, advance in cost over comparable conventional boxes and cartons, and which may be filled and wrapped in a conventional manner at the same speed and with the same equipment used for comparable boxes and cartons of the standard type.'

The foregoing and other advantages and objects of the reducible containers of the present invention will become more readily apparent to those skilled in the art from the embodiments thereof shown in the accompanying drawing, and from the description following. It is to be understood, however, that such embodiments are shown by way of illustration only, to make the principles and practice of the invention more readily comprehensible and without any intent of limiting the invention to the specific details therein shown.

In the drawings: v FIG. l is a plan view of a blank for forming a reducible container in the form of an open-top box;

FIG. 2 is an isometric view of the box formed from the blank of FIG. 1; full size;

FIG. 3 is an isometric view of the box of FIG. 2; reduced in size;

FIG. 4 is the blank for a reducible container in the form of a carton;

FIG. 5 is an isometric view of a cartonV set up from the blank of FIG. 4; and

FIG. 6 is .an isometric view of the carton of FIG. 5, reduced in size.

Referring now, in greater detail, to the embodiments of the invention illustrated in the drawings, and with particular reference to the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 1-3 of the drawings, the same shows an open-type box formed from a blank generally designated as 16, comprising a center or bottom panel 12 having side-wall forming panels 14 along each of its longitudinal edges, defined from the center panel by foldlines 16, and having end-wall forming panels 18 at each end thereof, defined therefrom by oldlines 20. Each of the end wall panels 18 is provided with a flap 22 a-t each of its two side edges, defined therefrom by foldlines 24, which are continuous with foldlines 16. Each of the flaps 22 is formed with a hook 26 engageable in the detent slot 28, formed in the adjacent end portion of a side wall panel 14 when the side walls and end walls are erected relative to the center panel 12 and the flaps 22 are offset against the exterior of the side walls 14, as clearly seen in FIG. 2 of the drawings.

Formed transversely across the center panel, inwardly from and parallel to the adjacent end-wall panel 1S is a tearline 30, that is continued across thel two side-wall panels 14, and formed across the center panel 12, inwardly of the tearline 30 at a distance equal to the length or height of an end-wall panel 18, is a foldline 32, parallel to foldline 20, which is continued as intermittently cut lines 34, in the side-wall panels 14; such intermittently cut lines 34 being parallel to the end edge of the sidewall panel 14 adjacent to the tearline 30.

The portion of the carton outwardly of the tearline 30 constitutes a tearaway portion for reducing the size of the box. The portion of the center panel 12, between the tearaway line 30 and the foldline 32, comprises a substitute end-wall panel 18a, foldable on line 32. The portions of the side-wall panels between the tearaway line 30 and the intermittent cut .lines 34 constitute substitute aps 22a, in which a substitute ear 26a may be defined by intermittent broken lines 36.

Each of the side-wall panels is provided adjacent the intermittent cut line with an auxiliary slot 28a, parallel to the detent slot 2S of the tearaway portion, in position to receive the substitute ear 26a of substitute flap 22a.

In use, the blank 10 may be folded and set up along its entire length to form the full-size box, as shown in FIG.v 2 of the drawings. When part of the contents is removed, .the portion of the box exteriortly of the tearline 30 may be torn away along that line and the substitute end Wall 18a and flaps 22a may be erected along foldline 32 and outline 34 to provide a new wall at the end of the box, with the substitute flaps 22a and hooks 26a engaged in the substitute slots 28a, as shown in FIG. 3, to thereby form a complete but shortened box. It will be clear that as flaps 22a are struck out along the intermittent cutline defining them, the outer portion of the fiaps 22u will fall away.

While a single tearaway line and a single substitute endwall panel and a single pair of substitute end-flaps are illustrated in the drawings, it may be readily apparent that more than one substitute end-wall panel may be provided, so that the box may be shortened to more than one reduced size. i

AIt will also be readily apparent that a cover for the box, likewise reducible in size, may be provided in the form of a separate, correspondingly cut and scored blank; or a panel corresponding to panel 12 may be provided integrally with one of the side-Wall panels 14, said separate cover panel having a side-wall panel along its longitudinal free edge, and end-wall panels and flaps at its ends corresponding to the panels 18 and fiaps 22, in a manner that will be readily apparent.

The embodiment of FIGS. 4, 5, and 6 illustrates a reducible four-walled carton embodying the present invention. Such carton is formed of a blank which is generally designated as 50 and which is cut and scored to provide a first side panel S2, a second side panel S4, a third side panel 56, and a fourth side panel 58; alternate of the panels being of the same width; the panels being defined from one another along foldlines 60, 62, and 64. One of the terminal panels of the blank, such :as S2, may be provided with a glue flap 66 along its longitudinal edge.

rhe wall panels 52, 54, 56 and 58 may each be provided with a foldable end-wall panel 68, 7), 72 and 74, respectively, at each end edge thereof, defined from the respective panels by foldlines 76, 78, 80, and 82, respectively. The end-wall panels are defined from one another by cutlines 84, 86 and 88.

The blank 50 is provided, in alternate end panels atone end thereof, with reclosable locking means where, as in the illustrated embodiment, pairs of alternate panels are of different width; such reclosable locking means may be provided on the pair of the wider of the end panels such as 68 and 72. In the illustrated embodiment of FIGS. 3-6, such interlocking means may comprise a tongue 90 in the Outer edge of one of the wider panels as 72, and a tongue-receiving slot 92 in the other of the wider panels 68, formed by the punch-out piece 94.

Formed across the blank 50, parallel to the end edge thereof having a tongue 90, is a tearaway line 96, extending across all of the panels 52, 54, 56 and 58, as well as glue tab 66. Inwardly of the tearline 96 there is provided the foldline 98, parallel to foldlines 76, 78, 8) and 82, and spaced a distance from tearaway line 96 equal to the height `of the end panels 68, 70, 72 and 74. The tearline 96 defines a tearaway section and the spaces between the tearline 96 and the foldline 98 defines substitute end-wall panels 68a, 70a, 72a and 74a. The portion of the foldlines 60, 62 and 64 lying between tearline 96 and foldline 98 may preferably be intermittently cut t facilitate the separation of the substitute end-wall panels from one another for purposes of folding.

The portion of the tearline 96 lying within panel 56 may have an outward indentation 90a, corresponding in shape and size to the tongue 90 in end panel 72, and substitute end-Wall panel 68a may have anr intermittent cutline defining the punch-out piece 94a. for forming the tongue-receiving slot 92a. The blank 56 may be set up as a carton in a conventional manner by folding panels 52, 54, 56 and 58 along foldlines 60, 62 and 64, and then gluing tab 66 to the edge of the terminal side-wall panel 58. End-wall panels 68, 70, 72 and '74 remote from tearline 96 may then be folded inwardly over one another and adhesively secured to one another to forni a bottom wall for the carton; end-wall panel 68 folded across panels 70 and 74, and panel 72 folded over panel 68, and the tongue inserted into the slot 92. To reduce the height of the carton, the section remote from the foldline .is torn away along tearline 96; substitute end-wall panels 70a and 74a are separated from the adjacent endwall panels 63a and 72a by tearing along the intermittent cutline, and the substitute end-Wall panels folded over in the same manner as the original end-wall panels in the torn-away section, and the panels 72a and 68a interlocked in the same manner.

While in the illustrated embodiment of the carton of the invention of FIGS. 4, and 6 provision is made for a single tearaway section, it will be readily apparent that tearlines and foldlines 96 and 98 may be repeated along the length of the blank to make possible several successive reductions in the height of the carton, in a manner that will be readily understood and not thought necessary to be specifically illustrated.

This concludes the description of the reducible containers of the present invention. It will be readily apparent that such containers may be formed of blanks that may be cut and scored by the same procedure as the blanks of conventional cardboard containers of the same type, without the need of any special or additional processing; that they may be folded and glued in the same manner and with the same equipment as the blanks of such conventional type containers; and that they may be set up, filled, sealed, and lined or wrapped, likewise, in the same manner and by the same equipment as conventional type containers, and at the same rate of speed.

It will also be apparent that the containers of the invention may be quickly and easily reduced in size and quickly and easily and neatly refolded and reclosed to provide a neat container of reduced size of clean and attractive outline and shape.

It will be further apparent that numerous modifications and variations may be made in the reducible containers of the present invention by anyone skilled in the art, in accordance with the principles of the invention hereinabove set forth, without the exercise of any inventive ingenuity. I desire, therefore, to be protected for any and all such variations and modifications that may be made within the spirit of the invention and scope of the claims hereto appended.

What I claim is:

1. A cardboard container comprising at least three wall panels, -including a first panel, and a panel connected to each longitudinal edge of said first panel and offset relative thereto, end closure means at each end of said container including a panel extension on at least said first panel offset relative thereto to close the space defined by said three panels, a tearline formed across said three panels in spaced relation to and parallel to an adjacent edge of said first panel, and a foldlinev formed across said first panel parallel to said tearline and a distance inwardly therefrom equal to the length of said panel extension, said foldline in said first panel continued as an intermittent cutline in each of said connected panels, and cooperating interengaging means between said closure and the portion of each connected panel'and said foldline thereof, and between the portion of each said connected panel between said foldline thereof and said intermittent outline thereof and the portion thereof to the other side of said intermittent cutline, interengaging with one another when said panel extension and the portion of said first panel between said tearline and said foldline are selectively disposed in offset position.

2. A cardboard container comprising at least three wall panels, including a first panel and a panel connected t0 each longit-udinal edge of said first panel and offset relative thereto, end closure means at each end of said container including a panel extension on at least said first panel offset relative thereto to close the space defined by said three panels, ya tearline formed across said first panel parallel to and spaced from an adjacent edge of said first panel, and a foldline formed across said first panel parallel to said tearline and a distance inwardly therefrom equal to the length of said panel extension, said foldline in said first panel continued as an intermittent outline in each said connected panels, said panel extension having a laterally extending flap at each side thereof, each said flap having a hook at its end, each said ap foldable against the end of the adjacent connected panel; said adjacent connected panel having a detent slot formed therein receiving said hook; the portion of each said connected panel between said tearline and said intermittent cutline having a hook corresponding to said hook of said panel extension ap defined therein by an intermittent cutline; the portion of each said connected Wall inwardly of said intermittent cutline having a detent slot dened therein by 4an intermittent cutline adapted to receive said hook of said adjacent portion of the connected panel between said tearline and said intermittent cutline continuous with said foldline.

3. A blank for a reducible cardboard container, comprising a strip of cardboard cut and scored to provide at least three connected wall panels dened from one another by foldlines, at least one of said panels having an extension at each end dened therefrom by a foldline, a tearline formed in said strip across said three Wall panels parallel to their 4adjacent end edges, a foldline formed in said strip across at least the center one of said three panels parallel to said tearline at a distance inwardly therefrom equal substantially to the length of said extension, said foldline in said center panel continued as an intermittent cutline in each panel to each 20 side thereof, said panel extentsion of said center wall panel having a ap extension at each side edge thereof defined therefrom by a foldline, each said ap extension having a hook shape, a detent slot formed in the end portion of the adjacent of each wall panel at each side of said center panel for receiving said hook shaped ap adjacent thereto; the portion of each said wall panel to each side of said ycenter panel between said tearline and References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,772,625 8/ 1930 Caulfield 229-51 2,251,565 8/1941 Forman 229-16 3,167,240 1/ 1965 Collura et al. 229-51 3,168,234 2/1965 Bartz 229-51 3,226,006 12/1965 Dunn 229-35 FOREIGN PATENTS 513,675 9/1952 Belgium. 690,233 7/ 1964 Canada. 1,183,269 12/1959 France.

25 JOSEPH R. LECLAIR, Primary Examiner.

GEORGE O. RALSTON, Examiner.

D. T. MOORHEAD, Assistant Examz'ner. 

1. A CARDBOARD CONTAINER COMPRISING AT LEAST THREE WALL PANELS, INCLUDING A FIRST PANEL, AND A PANEL CONNECTED TO EACH LONGITUDINAL EDGE OF SAID FIRST PANEL AND OFFSET RELATIVE THERETO, END CLOSURE MEANS AT EACH END OF SAID CONTAINER INCLUDING A PANEL EXTENSION ON AT LEAST SAID FIRST PANEL OFFSET RELATIVE THERETO TO CLOSE THE SPACE DEFINED BY SAID THREE PANELS, A TEARLINE FORMED ACROSS SAID THREE PANELS IN SPACED RELATION TO AND PARALLEL TO AN ADJACENT EDGE OF SAID FIRST PANEL, AND A FOLDLINE FORMED ACROSS SAID FIRST PANEL PARALLEL TO SAID TEARLINE AND A DISTANCE INWARDLY THEREFROM EQUAL TO THE LENGTH OF SAID PANEL EXTENSION, SAID FOLDLINE IN SAID FIRST PANEL CONTINUED AS AN INTERMITTENT CUTLINE IN EACH OF SAID CONNECTED PANELS, AND COOPERATING INTERENGAGING MEANS BETWEEN SAID CLOSURE AND THE PORTION OF EACH CONNECTED PANEL AND SAID FOLDLINE THEREOF, AND BETWEEN THE PORTION OF EACH SAID CONNECTED PANEL BETWEEN SAID FOLDLINE THEREOF AND SAID INTERMITTENT CUTLINE THEREOF AND THE PORTION THEREOF TO THE OTHER SIDE OF SAID INTERMITTENT CUTLINE, INTERENGAGING WITH ONE ANOTHER WHEN SAID PANEL EXTENSION AND THE PORTION OF SAID FIRST APNEL BETWEEN SAID TEARLINE AND SAID FOLDINE ARE SELECTIVELY DISPOSED IN OFFSET POSITION. 